Natsume and the Shinigami
by Chibi-Kogitsune
Summary: Ichigo is now a full-fledged Shinigami. Sort of. He, like all other Shinigami, has to go through the Academy. Ichigo signs up for a study tour to an Ayakashi and Yokai hotspot, and is stuck with Renji as his "guide". Thankfully, Rukia tags along. So when the trio happen to meet a spiritualy aware teen and his talking cat, chaos ensures. *TAKING SUGGESTIONS*
1. Ichigo, Student of the Academy

**Ichigo's POV**

Ichigo Kurosaki was a Shinigami. Not a Substitute, well, not anymore. He had decided to become a full-fledged Shinigami once he turned 19. That day had passed, and he was now . . .

Writing out an essay on Hell Butterflies and the workings of the Senkaimon. Yep, he was back in high school. Well, technically it was the Shinigami Academy. They're pretty much the same thing, except that the latter was for dead people. _I didn't know they even had a Shinigami Academy . . ._ thought Ichigo.

Luckily for him though was that, out of gratitude for him defeating Aizen and all (most) of his cronies and giving up his powers in order to do so, the only part of the Academy Ichigo had to be part of was the Kido skills and learning about the other types of sprits, other than the Common Plus, Hollows, Arrancars, Visored and Shinigami.

And (of course) Hell Butterflies and the workings of the Senkaimon.

Of the other types of spirits, Ichigo learnt, there were Ayakashi and Yokai, which the divided into various 'Types'. These were the most well-known of the spirit types to humans, but also the hardest for humans to see.

* * *

Ichigo was looking at the results for his essay on Hell Butterflies and the Senkaimon when he noticed a flyer tacked to the noticeboard. It read:

_Study Tour to the World of the Living!  
__Residents of the Academy! This is your chance!  
__We will be travelling to the World of the Living to a large Ayakashi and Yokai hotspot in the form of a small village in the mountains.  
__Anybody welcome!_

"Cool" Ichigo said to himself as he read the flyer, he noticed the fine print at the bottom of the page:

_Note: students MUST have grades higher than a B in order to go on the trip._

"Crap!" he exclaimed, as he frantically flipped through his essay results. There! There it was! He had scored a B+, barely scraping in. Ichigo looked at the flyer once again, and saw the lines provided for students to sign up. There was only one space left! Ichigo looked behind him and saw a fellow student who looked like he was itching to sign his name in the last space. He even had the brush in his hand!

Oh, and that was another thing about the Academy. They had to use traditional ink brushes. No pencils, no mechanical pens, just ink and a brush.

Ichigo looked at the date of the Study Tour: _15/09/12_

Swearing, Ichigo quickly signed his name, shot an apologetic glance at the poor kid and ran to his dorm to start packing. The Study Tour was tomorrow after all.

**~time-skip cuz im lazy~ **

As Ichigo arrived at the Senkaimon, he took note of those he would be going with. Of the Academy residents there was Kaoru, Takeshi, Natsuo, Mayu, Ai, Shizuko, Yusuke, Sakurada, Sonoko and himself. Then there were the "Supervisors" of the group, the Squad members: Tsukino, Kushina, Heiji, Tatsumi, Shiroko, Shinichi, Haimaru, Yuna, Renji and . . .

Rukia?

_What's _she_ doing here? _Wondered Ichigo, _there's only supposed to be 10 of them . . ._ _and Renji! Granted, he's a 3rd seat now, but it's only supposed to be seated officers _below_ the rank of 3 . . ._

He walked up to the two to ask them about it. "Yo, Renji, Rukia," they turned around and saw Ichigo making a beeline towards them.

"Hey Ichigo!"  
"Yo,"  
"What are you guys doing here?" Ichigo asked  
"We signed up." Rukia replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe.  
Ichigo sighed. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant what are a Lieutenant and a 3rd seat doing on a Study Tour to the World of the Living? I thought it said only officers bellow 3rd seat could supervise."  
"Well," began Rukia, in a very stuck-up tone, "As you know—"  
"*coughKuchikiinterventioncoug h*" Renji coughed, earning an elbow in the gut because of it.  
"What?" he practically whined, "It's true!" this time earning himself a knee to a rather . . . _sensitive _area of the male physique.  
". . . right, well that explains Rukia, but what about you Renji? How'd _you_ get here?"  
"I-I thought it'd be fun" Renji indignantly  
Ichigo face-palmed. "So basically, you both snuck through the Senkaimon." Ichigo cut Rukia off as she opened he mouth to argue, "Kuchiki intervention or not."  
"Why does it matter how we all got here?" Sonoko piped up, "Let's just enjoy the trip, huh?"

". . . Fine . . ." the three grumbled in unison.

* * *

If Ayakashi or Yokai, who were usually benevolent, found out that there were trainees within the group of Shinigami, they would quickly become violent and fight the trainees as a way to prove themselves amongst the other Ayakashi and Yokai. So, to avoid such a situation, those of the Academy were given a Shihakushō for the duration of the trip, so as not to attract any more attention than necessary. Ichigo, for one, was ecstatic to be able to wear a proper Shihakushō again. The Academy uniform felt strange to him, he felt out of place wearing it . . . then again, it seemed the total opposite for some of his fellow trainees. They stood there with the nameless Zanpaku-to issued to them at the beginning of the tour, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, like they were about to be caught out any second, others stood there proudly, puffing out their chests like roosters on steroids. Ichigo was allowed to have Zangetsu with him, seeing how unaccustomed he was to wielding a sealed Zanpaku-to. For that, he was also very grateful.

Because the tour was longer than any they had been on before, they were also issued Gigais and were to attend the local high schools as part of their human studies. Of course, they weren't all going to the same high school, just ones within the area. This time, Ichigo was on the same page as his classmates. It was the first time he had worn a proper Gigai . . . well other than his body of course.

Ichigo was issued Renji as his guide, much to his displeasure. Thankfully, Rukia decided to come with the two male Shinigami to 'make sure they didn't do anything stupid'. They were going to the closest school, and were to enter the school as first years. For Rukia, that would be a piece of cake, Ichigo and Renji? Not so much.

* * *

The three were sitting down on the grass eating their lunch when Rukia began to talk. "Hey, Renji, remember that Ayakashi from when we came here last?" she asked.  
"You mean from when we were in the Academy? No, sorry, I went to Karakura instead. This is my first time in this part of the Living World." Renji replied.  
"Oh, well anyway, last time I came here, I met this Ayakashi, I think his name was Madara or something, but you should've seen his face when I told him I was a Shinigami!" she laughed, and as Rukia told the two more about this Madara, the more they wanted to meet the guy.

"So what else is there to know about this Madara guy?" Ichigo asked  
"He's a terrible drunk, I'll give you that much. He's even worse than Rangiku when it comes down to it."  
"No. Freakin'. Way. That's impossible!" cried Renji. As Renji started to list off all the terrible things Rangiku had done while she was drunk, Ichigo turned to Rukia for more info. "So, what's this guy look like anyways?"

Rukia tried in vain to explain Madara's appearance to Ichigo in words, but in the end resorted to her sketch pad, which she had somehow managed to bring along. "Umm . . . yeah, thanks Rukia, I'll look out for him," said Ichigo, knowing that whatever Madara looked like, it would be far from what had been depicted in Rukia's drawing.


	2. Enter Natsume and Nyanko-Sensei

The three were standing under a tree arguing about what to wear while in their Gigais since it was Friday and the school day was over, when Rukia sensed someone coming. "Who's there?" she asked, whipping around. There she saw a boy with sandy blond hair holding a—what was it, a cat? Both of which were staring right at them.

"Who are you?" The boy asked apprehensively.  
"Wait, human, you can see us?" Renji asked incredulously. Calling out over his shoulder he said "Oi, Ichigo! Check this out, he can see us!"  
Ichigo, who had been lounging about in the tree jumped down and stared at the boy and his strange fat cat.

The boy seemed to realise that the three in front of him were not human, and was getting quite distressed. Seeing this, Renji decided that he would have a bit of fun with the poor kid.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

Natsume yawned. Nyanko-Sensei had been drinking till god knows when in the morning . . . again, and was now blaming _him_ for his hangover.

"Nyanko-Sensei," he said, looking down at the pudgy cat toddling beside him, "you know it's your own fault for drinking so much last night so don't go blaming me for the hangover. . . . Some bodyguard you are . . ." he mumbled.  
The cat whipped its head around to Natsume. "What was that, Natsume?" it slurred grumpily.

Natsume turned his head away from the cat "Oh, nothing,"  
"Wrong!" snapped the cat as he launched himself at Natsume's face "You said something, didn't you? Didn't you, Natsume?!"  
"S-Stop it, Nyanko-Sensei, you stink of sake!" complained Natsume as he tried to peel his self-appointed bodyguard off his face, to no avail. "I said get off!" he hollered as he punched Nyanko-Sensei square on the forehead.  
"N-No you didn't," mumbled the cat, nursing the egg on his head. "You said 'stop it'."  
"It's the same thing!" cried Natsume, a vein pulsing in his forehead.

Natsume sighed as he resumed walking, self-appointed bodyguard now hitching a ride in his arms, when he saw a man and a woman wearing strange black kimonos arguing over something. He didn't know why, but those two people gave him a bad feeling. Ignoring his gut, which was telling him to run away, he walked over to them and asked a simple question; "Who are you?"

Just as the words were about to leave his mouth, the girl whipped around to face him. "Who's there?"

The girl was about his height, maybe a little shorter, but he could tell just by looking in her eyes that her height would mean nothing in a fight. She had black hair that had been cut short, with a single bang taking centre stage in the middle of her face.

"Who are you?" Natsume asked, the words finally leaving his mouth. The boy, who he could now tell was a man of about 20 years, with flame red hair tied up into a messy ponytail and was wearing a black bandana around his forehead and also seemed to be heavily tattooed, took a step forward.

"Wait, human, you can see us?" the man asked with obvious surprise. _Oh no . . . don't tell me that they're Ayakashi! _Thought Natsume _but, their presence feels different from the others, it feels stronger . . . even stronger than Nyanko-Sensei's!_ "Oi, Ichigo!" the man called, _What? Don't tell me there's another one!_ "Come check this out, he can see us!"

A third person jumped down from the tree and landed amongst the others. That was when Natsume realised that all three were carrying swords. Although the one with the orange hair had the biggest by far, he knew better than to underestimate the other two.

Now that he thought about it, the three standing in front of him wore no masks to cover their faces, even though they had unknowingly proved themselves to be Ayakashi. The only way Natsume could tell that they were not human was the sheer amount of spirit power that they were emitting.

Madara stared at the girl; he knew he'd seen her face before, but he couldn't figure out when or where that had been. "Oi, Rukia, what should we do now?" the one with the orange hair asked, "The kid knows we exist," Madara's eyes widened in recognition. _Now_ he remembered! It was from _that_ time!

Madara took a step forward. "Rukia?" he asked hesitantly, cocking his head slightly.

"UWAHAAAA! T-T-The cat TALKED!" The one with red hair skittered back to the tree and pressed his back to the trunk, shaking in an almost comical way.  
"Idiot, what's got you so surprised, huh? You never freaked out when you met Yoruichi or Kon and _they're_ both talking cats!" scoffed the carrot top.  
"Shut up you moron I wasn't expecting it!" the other retorted

Ignoring the commotion behind her, Rukia stared at the pudgy cat. "That voice . . . Madara, is that you?"

"Wait, you guys know each other?" the other three exclaimed in unison.  
"Wait, Madara? Isn't that the guy you were telling us about earlier? Man, your drawings were actually pretty accurate for once."  
"Shut up you idiot, that's not his true form! He was probably sealed in the form of a maneki neko," Rukia looked at Madara, "am I right, Madara?"  
"Yes, I'm surprised you guessed that much, Rukia," he replied.

Natsume pulled Nyanko-Sensei over to talk. "Nyanko-Sensei, what are they? Are they Ayakashi?" he asked, looking at the three arguing together.  
"In a way . . ."  
"What do you mean Nyan—?" Natsume asked turning to where the cat was, only to see an empty space. "H-Hey, Nyanko-Sensei where'd you go?" he said, looking around frantically, he spotted the self-appointed bodyguard making a bee-line towards the three strange Ayakashi.

"So," said Nyanko-Sensei as he approached the three, "What brings you Shinigami here?"


	3. Reiko's Zanpaku-to

**This is an idea from ****WooffX3**** that I put Reiko into the story somehow, so I decided what better place to put her than the Seireitei as a Shinigami? I mean, she is dead, and we all know that she has loads of spiritual power, so it's kinda obvious that she would become a Shinigami.**

* * *

**Reiko's Zanpaku-to  
**  
**Shikai:**Seishin o Ketsugō (Spirit Binder)

**Release Command:**Sorera o Tōgoku, Seishin o Ketsugō! (Imprison them, Spirit Binder!)

**Powers/Abilities:** Seishin o Ketsugō's Shikai controls the opponent's Zanpaku-to's spiritual power and energy, and the opponent's body  
as well, forcing them to do Reiko's every whim whether they want to or not.

**Bankai:**it is unknown whether or not Reiko has achieved Bankai.

Reiko's Zanpaku-to has a very potent ability, and as a result, Reiko has been made a member of the first squad, so as to be under the close scrutiny of the head captain himself.

Due to her Zanpaku-to's ability, Reiko is only dispatched in the most dire of situations, and so out of boredom and her carefree personality, she has, on numerous occasions, broken many of the soul society's laws, such as entering the Senkaimon without a hell butterfly purely for the thrill of running for her life from the cleaner, and going off to the world of the living giving little or no notice beforehand, intentions unclear, and sneaking into the Kuchiki manor to 'play' with Byakuya, or mess around in his office when no one is around, and then lay the blame on Lieutenant Abarai or Kurosaki Ichigo. All in all, she is more of a troublemaker than Ichigo and all of his cohorts, or Lieutenant Kusajishi on a sugar high, in everyone's opinion. She is also one of the few Shinigami who challenged Zaraki Kenpachi to a dual of her own free will.

* * *

**In regards to your obvious questions:**

**I decided to give Reiko's Zanpaku-to similar powers to the Yuujinchou because it just suits her personality. she seems to be the sort of person to control the opponent mentally, not shred them to pieces with sakura petals or blasting them into oblivion, although the opponent doesn't have to write their name down on a piece of paper for it to be effective. (Obviously. Hello it's a Zanpaku-to!)**

**Another thing I just want to clear up about Reiko's Zanpaku-to is what I said about it controlling the opponents zanpakuto. What I mean there is that she controls the Zanpaku-to's POWER, so if the opponent is in Shikai, Reiko can deactivate it and reactivate it whenever the heck she wants. But, like all other Zanpaku-to, Seishin o Ketsugō's abilities are only effective while she is in Shikai. Once she re-seals her Zanpaku-to, the opponent regains control.**

**She is also like Muramasa in the sense that she can make the Zanpaku-to turn against its master, although unlike Muramasa, it's against the Zanpaku-to's will.**

**I just hope that clears up any confusion for you guys. ^-^U**

**As for where I'm going to insert her into the story, I'm at a complete loss. You can PM me or give any suggestions you have in your reviews. I'm also going to put a poll up as to which Squad to put Reiko in. Because frankly, puttting her in the first squad was pretty much spur of the moment. i mean, Reiko seams to be the kind of person to want some kind of action in their lives, rather than sit around their barrracks doing nothing, which is basically what First Squad does most of the time. So that means you've got three options:  
****1) Review  
2) PM me  
and 3) Vote in the Poll**

**CuzI'm at a complete loss T^T**


End file.
